


Peggy

by esmereldagrace



Series: 'Train? What train?' [3]
Category: As the World Turns
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Kid Fic, M/M, Married Life, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-08
Updated: 2015-03-08
Packaged: 2018-03-16 20:13:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3501365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/esmereldagrace/pseuds/esmereldagrace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Normally Reid wasn't one to deny Luke anything, within reason of course, but with a baby in the house and with the both of them busier than ever, having a pet underfoot would not be ideal. Plus, it didn't help that Reid was a little bit allergic to dogs. It was safe to say Freddie wasn't the only grumpy one on this journey. </p><p>Reid could feel his eyes itching already.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Peggy

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know? *throws fic and throws hands in the air*
> 
> Based in the universe of [this](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1086014) and [this](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2622956) fic, but there's no need to read them both to understand this one. :)
> 
> And for the first time ever, the title of this fic is not based on a song! I know, I can't believe it either...but this title just seemed perfectly simple. As usual, this is unbeta-ed so any mistakes you find are mine and mine and only therefore my apologies are yours. Hope you enjoy and thank you for reading if you do! 
> 
> Kudos and/or comments are loved if deserved! ♥

 

"So, who's idea was this?"

"Not mine."

Reid faced Luke and raised an eyebrow. "Lying to me won't achieve anything."

Luke raised an eyebrow back. "Then why ask the question?"

"Because I needed verbal confirmation of the fact that this was your idea and that I had no part in it."

"Why would you care if someone thought it was your idea?"

"If we end up coming home with a dog, which we have no time or space for I might add, I will blame you."

"And what, having a dog will ruin your reputation?"

"Yes."

"What reputation even is that? That you're not compassionate and don't have the capacity to love someone other than yourself?"

Reid hesitated. "Maybe."

Luke rolled his eyes with a quirk of a smile. "Reid, you have a husband and a son, your reputation is no longer what it was, my cuddly boo."

There was a pinch to his cheek and Reid grimaced, moving his head away from Luke's reach wanting to avoid more of the cheek pinching. Once Luke started he never stopped.

There was a snort of a laugh from the backseat and Reid glared at the offending snorter using the rear-view mirror. "Natalie, you didn't hear that."

Natalie shrugged, nonplussed. "I've heard worse."

This time it was Luke who laughed and Reid made a face, eyes now firmly back on the road. "You Snyder's are the bane of my existence."

"Please, you love us Snyder's tons, my grumpy love muffin," Luke teased, pulling gently at his earlobe.

Reid thought it best not to say another word in case he had to suffer with another term of endearment and got back to the task at hand, _driving_.

They were on the way to an animal shelter just out of town where they were holding a small event for people who were looking to adopt a pet. The invitation had come after Luke had made a donation that had funded the completion of their new and bigger kennels for the rescued animals. And with most of last night soothing a _still_ teething and fussy Freddie, they all had needed to get out of the house and get some fresh air.

Fortunately, or unfortunately in Reid's case, Luke remembered about the invite and so had managed to get them all ready and out of the house before noon, Reid finding out about the destination once they'd already left the house.

It's not that Reid hated animals, he just wasn't fond of them that much. He may have had bad experiences with them in the past which most definitely _did not_ affect him today, but what worried him the most was that Luke had been trying to coerce him for the past couple of years into getting a dog, or even a cat.

Normally Reid wasn't one to deny Luke anything, within reason of course, but with a baby in the house and with the both of them busier than ever, having a pet underfoot would not be ideal. Plus, it didn't help that Reid was a little bit allergic to dogs. It was safe to say Freddie wasn't the only grumpy one on this journey.

Reid could feel his eyes itching already.

"Hey Nat, how's Freddie doing?" asked Luke, checking his e-mails on his phone before twisting around to see them both.

Natalie stroked a finger over his cheek with a sad smile. "Still clutching his ugly rabbit plushie for comfort but not crying. That's a change from yesterday, right?"

"Yeah, like father like son," Luke joked, earning him a pinch to his thigh from Reid. "But my baby is still looking miserable and I hate it."

Reid agreed, catching a quick glimpse of Freddie in his car seat. "I hate it too. Did he eat actually anything today?"

Luke's lips twisted downwards. "Just had some milk and some of those baby biscuits. I've got some apple slices for him if he gets hungry. I'm sure we can grab some lunch once we're done at the animal shelter, right?"

"Yeah of course, I think I'll be hungry in an hour or so anyway."

Natalie sighed heavily and loudly. "We just had breakfast thirty minutes ago, Reid."

"Nat, I thought you'd know Reid by now," Luke said, leaning over to kiss Reid's cheek with a laugh, "he is insatiable."

Reid was loathe not to concur. "Damn straight...or damn _gay_ in our case."

Reid could sense Natalie was probably making some kind of face, but the laugh was what he'd wanted from her despite his terrible joke. "You guys are cute but sickening at the same time," she said with a chuckle slipping past her lips, "I don't know how that's possible, but it is."

"Why thank you, Natalie. We do like to make the impossible possible, right Luke?"

Luke winked Reid's way, making his heart skip a beat, as he always did. "Right, babe."

Freddie chimed in with some babbling of his own, not wanting to be left out of the conversation and the car filled with the sound of laughter.

***

"You two go on in, I'll bring Freddie with me once we're done snacking."

"You sure?" Luke tightened his scarf with a frown.

"It's fine, we'll come and find you."

Luke reluctantly nodded and leaned down to kiss Freddie's cheek and nose, who was still sat grumpily in his car seat. He handed over the baby bag to Reid and gave him a quick kiss. "You took those allergy pills, right?"

Reid resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes, mother." Before they'd left home and were sat in the car, Luke had handed Reid his pills with a bottle of water, just in case.

Luke snorted a laugh and leaned in for one more kiss. He dropped an arm around Natalie who snuggled closer to him and curled an arm around his waist. "Let's go, I wanna go and play with some puppies and kittens. Maybe we'll be able to sneak one home," he said in a stage whisper.

"Hey, no sneaking," Reid warned as the both of them walked away laughing, no doubt planning some sort of scheme to do exactly that. He then turned to the little boy in the car who still looked miserable and made Reid's heart ache at the sight.

"Alright mister, let's get you out of this."

Reid unbuckled Freddie out of the car seat and closed the car door behind him, sitting Freddie up on the hood of the car. He popped open the little container handing Freddie a slice of apple with his ugly rabbit plushie right sat next to him. The winter was slowly melting into a warm-ish spring which meant that the snow was almost gone. It was actually finally nice enough to stand outside without getting frostbite.

Freddie seemed to be enjoying the fresh air however, his cheeks flushed red with the cold as he quietly munched on a piece of apple. Reid pulled his little beanie firmly over his ears and held a hand over his legs so he wouldn't tip over and took an apple slice for himself.

"Naa, naa?" Freddie questioned, flailing an arm.

"We'll go and find your Aunt Nat once you're done eating, bub," Reid told him, not exactly sure what Freddie was asking, but answering him nonetheless. He'd become incredibly attached to Natalie over the past couple of days, and even though most of yesterday and last night were spent crying, she seemed to have had a calming influence on him. Since Reid wasn't really up for houseguests these days as much as Luke was, Luke's brothers and sisters were tolerable and much preferred over anyone else.

When Natalie had shown up at their door on Monday night with a bag stuffed with her clothes along with her school bag and in floods of tears falling into Luke's arms, they definitely couldn't have turned her away.

A fight with her mother had led the both of them to say harsh but not entirely untrue things, words which had left Natalie devastated and not wanting to be around her mother whatsoever. With her father out of town and Natalie not wanting to burden her Grandmother, she came to the first place that came to mind.

So, she'd turned up at theirs where Luke had tried to do some damage control, talking to both his mother and Natalie to diffuse the situation, but it was to no avail.

Natalie refused to go home, still crying in Luke's arms, and Reid made the decision for all of them to let her stay with them for as long as she wanted to. Luke, holding a teary Natalie to his chest as they sat on the couch, had smiled gratefully and lovingly. Even though Luke was quick to show his appreciation in other ways later that night, which was an added advantage he had to admit, Reid had known this was the best thing they could've done for Natalie's benefit.

Lily wasn't an awful person, but there were times she let her mouth run before her brain did and Reid understood that, he really and truly did. But much of what she said wasn't ever rooted in truth but mostly in heightened emotions. He knew that Luke had a part of his mother 's personality in that way, but he had never said harsh things without a reason, even if his emotions sometimes did get the better of him.

That was the difference between them, and one he was glad for.

As much as having Natalie staying with them could've felt like an imposition on their lives, Reid really hadn't minded having her living with them one bit. She fit in seamlessly with their life and helped out where she could without either of them ever asking her to. She was a good kid, stubborn as hell like her brother, but a good and smart kid. Therefore getting her to smile and laugh and forget about what had happened had been his mission for the week, and one he was sure he'd succeeded in.

But then again, his humour wasn't as funny for a sixteen year old since the baby in the house was his primary audience these days, his only audience to be honest.

"Daaaaa!" Freddie screeched after finishing all his apple slices, licking at his sticky sweet hands and looking a little brighter and happier already.

"Hey, hey--stop that." Reid grabbed a baby wipe out of the bag and wiped at his hands and mouth (and his own), slam dunking the dirty wipe into the trash can behind him.

"You ready to go, bub?"

Freddie leaned forward and Reid was quick to catch him with a growl making the little guy giggle for the first time in hours. With the baby bag put back in the car, Reid made his way into the animal shelter which was, for this time of the day, overflowing with tons of people.

Luckily he didn't recognise anyone, but he managed to make his way through the throng at the reception to the larger indoor arena type area where they were keeping the animals that were to be adopted, mainly older rescue dogs and cats. In the smaller pens there were puppies of all different breeds, and kittens in another play fighting over toys and each other with the public cooing over them.

Having a quick look around the arena, he didn't catch sight of Luke or Natalie and so he made his way through the boisterous and over excited crowd out of the arena and down a corridor that was signposted to lead to the indoor kennels, hoping he'd find them there.

Freddie, still tightly clutching the ugly rabbit's ear in one hand and Reid with the other, seemed to be in awe of all the commotion and not scared one bit. He was however starting to get a little restless and since he'd started walking a month ago he was always eager to walk on his own two feet, literally. With only a handful of people in the corridor, Reid thought it was safe enough to let him down. 

"Okay, give me this so you can walk without falling over."

Reid reached for the ugly rabbit but Freddie let out a unholy screech that had Reid wince and hunch his shoulders. "Alright, you can keep the ugly rabbit," he mumbled, knowing exactly where Freddie had gotten his stubbornness from. He finally let go of Freddie's arm and took a hold of his hand instead, walking at his pace, _very slowly_. There were a couple of unstable steps before Freddie got the hang of it, grinning toothily at his own progress as Reid praised him.

"Good boy, how about I let you go and you don't run?"

As if Freddie was going to listen to that.

As soon as Reid let go of his hand, Freddie took a few unaided and successful steps before zooming off down the corridor, his giggles bouncing off the walls along with the barks of excitement from the dogs in some of the kennels. Reid jogged after him until Freddie reached the locked door at the end of the corridor that led outside.

With nowhere else to go, Freddie's curiosity struck him and so he turned back around and ran towards some empty kennels, slapping a hand on the wired door before moving onto the next one and slapping a hand repeatedly on the wire again making it rattle as he giggled.

"Hey, hey monster--none of that." Reid took a hold of his hand and walked him back down the corridor, still on the hunt for Luke. Pausing for a moment, Reid slipped his phone out of his pocket and was about to call Luke when he caught sight of Freddie sticking his hand through the wired door.

"Freddie, no--," Reid got on his knees and carefully took his hand out of the hole in the wired door, thankful that the dog inside the kennel, or puppy it looked like considering the size of it, was only sitting up and looking at them with interest, head cocked to the side. "We don't stick our hands through holes like that, okay?"

Freddie whined pitifully, wanting to get close to the puppy, a whine which then turned into a full on sob, trembling bottom lip and all.

Reid groaned inwardly because he knew that once Freddie started crying, it would take forever to stop him. Plus, after the stress of last night, he really didn't want Freddie to feel any worse. "No crying, Freddie--please."

A little yip had Reid's attention. The puppy, with its short, curly brown coat, was now stood close to the wire door, still looking as curious as ever. The puppy nosed at the wire and Freddie's sobs stopped immediately, and he giggled when the puppy yipped softly once more.

"She seems to like you guys," said a voice from above them.

Reid glanced up to see a young girl, obviously someone who worked at the animal shelter, smiling down at them.

"Yeah, sorry--my son seems to think he can stick his hand in anywhere these days without consequences."

The young girl laughed. "It's okay, she won't bite. Labradoodles are normally good with kids but she normally hides away if anyone comes to see her."

"Why's that?"

The girl, Willow, as indicated by her name badge smiled sadly as she bent down next to them, poking her fingers through the wire and scratching at the top of her head. "She's not had the easiest of starts and didn't have a nice family to take care of her so she's very wary of people. And after losing an eye she's become kind of withdrawn."

Reid didn't even notice that the puppy had lost an eye, under her short curly coat it was hard to tell and oh crap, he could feel himself fall for this puppy and that _couldn't happen_.

Reid cleared his throat, wanting to emotionally detach himself but finding it harder than he thought. "Is that why she's back here instead of with the other puppies?"

"Yup, she gets overwhelmed sometimes, but she's been getting better day by day. Haven't you, Peggy?"

Reid watched as Peggy licked at Willow's fingers in greeting and at Freddie who watched on with awe and curiosity, his brown eyes wide, tiny lips curled into a smile.

"Peggy seems to have fallen for your son though, did you want hang out with her? I'm sure Peggy would love someone to play with her for a little while."

Reid knew that this was a bad idea and he didn't have the excuse of his allergies either. Playing with a puppy didn't mean he would have to take it home, right? It would be like doing a good deed, a nice thing for a cute little puppy. Not cute, just puppy...yes. But he did still need to find Luke, they'd been gone long enough. That was a good enough excuse to get away before this dog wormed her way into his heart.

"I think it's a great idea."

Glancing up again at the familiar voice, he found Luke smiling smugly down at him with an equally smug Natalie by his side. "I think my husband is just as eager to get in there as my son, isn't that right?"

Reid swatted at Luke's calf, making him laugh knowingly, and didn't say another word as a happy Willow was quick to open the door to the kennel and let them all in. Reid led Freddie in by his hand and crouched down again with Freddie between his legs, slowly reaching out and stroking the puppy's head.

Peggy sniffed and nudged her nose into his hand and then pushed her head under his hand again, grateful for human contact. Once Reid was sure Peggy was calm enough, he took Freddie's hand in his and used it to stroke over her head.

"Say, 'Hi Peggy'," Reid said, smiling when Freddie laughed and tried to form a word, but only came out with some nonsense words instead.

Luke reached over Reid's shoulder and popped Freddie's beanie off of his head, smoothing down his curls before crouching down next to them both.

"Hey, Peggy--," Luke said softly as he smoothed a hand over her back, "aren't you so beautiful and brave?" He turned to Willow who was stood behind them and asked, "She's a Labradoodle, right?"

"Yup, she's about nine months old and been with us for a month or so. We managed to get the surgery on her eye done at a nearby vet's office and she's been recovering here since. She's a tough girl."

"What's a Labradoodle?" Natalie questioned, looking confused.

"It's a mix between a poodle and a Labrador," Luke explained and Reid wondered how he even knew. Obviously Luke had been doing research about dog breeds behind his back.

"Whoa, I didn't even know they existed. They're hella cute though."

"They are," Willow agreed before her radio crackled with some voices. "I'm sorry, I have to go--I'll be back in five minutes, tops. Will you guys be okay here?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah of course, thank you. No promises that we won't steal Peggy though."

Willow left with a laugh and in a hurry. Natalie walked closer towards them, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed against her chest. "Does that mean Reid and Freddie are kinda half Labradoodle?"

Reid frowned her way. "What do you--," he asked before it hit him. "Oh haa haa, I see--you're comparing the curly hair situation. I get it. Natalie, you would make a terrible comedian."

"Better comedian than you," Natalie said with a grin, winking Luke's way who was trying not to laugh.

Reid scowled at him and Luke shrugged. "That _was_ kinda funny. All three of you do look alike with the curly hair thing going on."

Reid ignored him and instead watched as Peggy nosed at Luke's hand before going back to Freddie and nosing at his face, licking at his cheek with a soft bark. Freddie squealed happily and Reid managed to carefully take the ugly rabbit plushie from Freddie's hand without him noticing, knowing that his bad mood was now truly over.

"My happy baby is back," Luke cooed, smoothing a hand over Freddie's head. "God, you scared me yesterday, baby."

Reid pressed a kiss to his curls and handed Freddie over to Luke who hugged him to his chest, giving him noisy kisses to his cheek. Reid stuffed the rabbit into his jacket pocket and ran a hand over Luke's head and down to the back of his neck, giving it a comforting squeeze. "He was just having a bad day, that's all--we all get those, don't we?"

"I know, but still--," Luke rested his chin on Freddie's head and scratched the top of Peggy's head, "I don't ever want to see him unhappy."

Reid knew there was nothing more could say because he did agree with Luke about that. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Luke's forehead before standing up with a groan, stretching his arms and back to work out the kinks. God, he really was getting old.

"Hey old man, shall I get your walking stick?"

Reid glowered Natalie's way, walking up to lean against the wall next to her. "No thank you, I'm not that old yet." And he didn't need the reminder.

"I'm only kidding. I didn't know just how sensitive you men were about your age."

"I'm not _sensitive_ ," Reid argued.

"You didn't see the way he reacted after seeing his first ever gray hair. It was priceless," Luke said with a laugh as he wrestled a chew toy out of Peggy's mouth with Freddie helping him.  "There was a week's worth of mourning for his loss of youth."

"Awww, Reid!" Natalie dropped her head on Reid's shoulder and wound both arms around his waist, giving him a comforting squeeze. "I promise to never mention your loss of youth or the fact you're nearing fifty. How many years left now? Like one year to go now, right?" she joked.

"Oh shut up you," Reid snapped without any heat, dropping an arm around her shoulders as she laughed. Her expression was so familiar to Luke's it made him smile involuntarily.

At the beginning of his and Luke's relationship she'd been incredibly shy and wary of him (for all the right reasons) and he had wondered whether she would ever be comfortable around him. But over the past year or so, as she'd gotten older, they had become closer. She trusted him enough to tell him anything, the same as she would do with Luke and that felt nice, in fact it felt great. 

Reid guessed, no... _he knew_ she was one big part of the many good things that Luke had brought into his life.

"You doing okay?" he asked softly, quiet enough for just Natalie to hear. They'd had a few chances to talk over the past week, but he just wanted to be sure that the change in mood for Natalie was a permanent one, that he and Luke had done enough to make sure she was taken care of, and most of all, that she was happy.

Natalie met his gaze with a wide and thankful smile, nodding. "Yeah, I'm great."

"Good," Reid smiled back, pressing a light kiss to her temple before the both of them watched Freddie being chased by a very energetic Peggy who looked just as happy as him.

"Hey, Nat--can you keep an eye on Freddie for a sec?" Luke called out as he got to his feet.

Natalie squeezed Reid into a side hug before letting him go, Freddie running straight into her legs with a giggle with Peggy doing the same.

The look on Luke's face made it clear he hadn't missed the exchange between him and Natalie but Reid knew Luke wouldn't comment on it. The soft and grateful smile told him everything.

As soon as Luke was near enough, Reid slipped his hands around his waist and dragged him closer. Luke rested his hands on Reid's chest with a chuckle before leaning in for a soft kiss that Reid returned for a couple of seconds before breaking it.

"Where were you earlier?" Reid asked.

Luke licked his lips with a smile, picking at some lint on Reid's pea coat. "The manager took me to their office and then to see the kennels outside. They've built a beautiful little play area for the dogs with the money they had left over. And then I had to go make sure Natalie put a kitten back where it belonged."

Reid chuckled. "She stole one?"

"Yeah kinda, she tried to sneak a little gray one into her jacket but I could see and hear the thing meowing her head off."

"And you wouldn't let her keep it? I'm surprised."

Luke stared at him incredulously. "It's not like I can just let her keep a kitten. She's going to go home eventually and I'm not sure Mom would like it."

"Your Mom doesn't like a lot of things doesn't mean Natalie can't keep the kitten."

"Reid," Luke shot him a disapproving look. "You know things would just get worse between them and I can't let that happen."

"I know, I know," Reid sighed, smoothing his hands up and down Luke's back for comfort. "Here's hoping things will get better between them soon--not that I want Nat out of the house as soon as possible, just that--you know."

Luke smiled indulgently. "I get it--I know exactly what you mean, no need to clarify. I'm a very lucky man to have you in my life."

"I know," Reid fired back making Luke laugh before he sobered for a moment. A hopeful smile emerged on Luke's face along with his eyebrows raised expectantly. "So, what do you think of Peggy?"

"Oh no," Reid shook his head, "I see what you're doing here--this is exactly what I was afraid of."

"But Reid," Luke pouted, "just look at her and Freddie--they're like the best of friends now." And yeah, Reid could definitely see that. Freddie was carefully playing with her ears as she lay in his lap contentedly.

"And Peggy is such a sweetheart, she would never get in our way and I know you've fallen for her like I have, I can tell," Luke continued, meeting his gaze with earnest. "We've talked about having a pet for a long time but then Freddie came along and we had our hands full with him. Now he's a little older, a little more independent so I know we can do this, don't you think?"

It's not like none of that wasn't true, because it was. Reid's allergies weren't so bad that there was no way they couldn't have a dog around the house, but taking on a puppy was a huge responsibility, not something that they could decide on a whim. There would be changes needed in the house, they would need to make sure it was puppy proof too, and most importantly they'd have to make space for her.

However, all those doubts and worries and little things were nothing compared to seeing Luke and Freddie happy. And okay yes, Peggy too. She deserved a better life and he knew that he and Luke could give her that. It all did make kind of make sense.

So before Luke could get in another word for his campaign speech, Reid got there first. "Yes okay, stop the whining Snyder. Let's do this."

Luke's mouth fell open, thinking he still had a fight on his hands. "Really? Are you serious?"

"Yes, but--let's talk about it seriously at home before we make a final decision."

Luke was almost bouncing up and down in excitement, just like Freddie when it was time to eat. "Of course, Reid--yeah, anything you want. You seriously really want to do this?"

There was no doubt about it. "Definitely, and you know what? How can I say no when Peggy kinda reminds me of you."

Luke eyebrows dipped in confusion, a quirk of smile appearing on his face. " _What_? In what way?"

"She's strong and determined, a fighter. Look how far she's gotten in such a short space of time after everything she's been through. She may look like me but she's got your personality."

"Oh my god, are you comparing me to a dog?" Luke laughed as Reid shrugged, stealing a kiss. "I love you, you weirdo. And hey, if it wasn't for you I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have gotten this far either."

"That's a lie and you know it," Reid told him confidently with a frown. He hated that Luke still didn't believe how strong and amazing he was. "Don't discount the hard work you've done all these years. I may have helped a little, but in no way am I the sole reason you are where you are today."

Luke sighed happily, eyes a little wet, mouth twisting into a smile. "Who knew Dr. Reid Oliver could be so selfless and sweet?"

Reid lifted a hand and thumbed his chin with a smirk. "I married you, didn't I?"

Luke gasped out loud, holding a hand to his heart. "You are so callous, Dr. Oliver. Why did I ever marry someone like you?"

"I'm guessing it was the money, but I'd like to think it was my good looks."

Luke hummed approvingly. "I do have to admit it does help that you're great in bed."

"Good looks, money and great sex. What more could you want from a marriage?"

Before Luke could seal that great deal with a kiss, a voice from behind Luke stopped them in their tracks.

"All I want from this marriage is for the both of you to find a room because there's only so much I can hear about your sex life or that you have a great sex life or whatever, _oh my god_ ," Natalie interrupted making a face, before looking at Freddie who was snuggled up in her lap along with Peggy. "Freddie, I'm so sorry that your Dad and Papa are so embarrassing. You're more than welcome to stay with me when they act like this. Whenever you want, I promise."

Freddie grinned and blew a raspberry up at her in agreement.

Reid hid his smile in Luke's hair, noticing the laugh that Luke was trying to hold back before looking Natalie's way. "That means you'll babysit anytime for us, Nat? Anytime we need it?" he asked seriously.

Natalie froze, about to complain before Reid carried on. "Wonderful, then it's done. Natalie just promised us babysitting for life, whenever we need it, in fact...I'm sure she'll take care of Peggy for us, too. Luke, we are so lucky."

"We so are!" Luke blew Natalie a kiss. "You are amazing, Nat. Whatever would we do without you?"

"Oh god," Natalie groaned, knowing there was no use arguing. "I hate you guys so much."

Both Luke and Reid burst into a fit of laughter, Freddie joining in even though he didn't know what they were laughing at, but laughing all the same.

Reid met Luke's gaze for a moment, saying everything that needed to be said without a word and with Luke still in Reid's arms, he kissed Reid's cheek (which definitely did not make him blush) and Reid threw him a wink back in reply.

They may be embarrassing and a little crazy, with a life that was on most days pretty normal, and on others soap opera style dramatic. But they were happy, healthy, and a terribly good looking family, now with a dog to match.

And in the end, that's all that mattered really.

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
